Implants may need to be delivered to various regions of the vasculature for many reasons. For example, embolic coils may be delivered to target regions of the vasculature to occlude a space, stents may be delivered to a target region to divert flow away from an area or prop open a blood vessel, embolic protection devices (“EPDs”) or blood filters may be delivered downstream of a target region to catch thrombus dislodged during a stenting or ballooning operation to prop open a blood vessel, clot retrievers may be delivered to a target region to capture and remove thrombus.
Implant delivery can be difficult due to the small size of many blood vessels, high turbidity due to blood flow, tortuous anatomy, as well as other reasons. A typical method for delivering an implant involves either pushing the implant out from a catheter/delivery device or retracting the catheter/delivery device to expose the implant. Generally, the implant is strategically placed so that upon deployment the implant will be at or near the target site. Because of the difficult conditions encountered in the vasculature, the implant may shift considerably when pushed from the delivery device or when the delivery device is retracted.
An implant delivery system and method that can quickly and accurately place an implant at a treatment site is therefore desirable.